Looking for land near Chicago (Wheaton, Orland Park: for sale, real estate, house)

[lisheyd]

My fiance and I will be moving to Chicago in about a year, due to his job. He will be working at the CME right downtown. His dream is to have a house on some land, not just a suburb...a couple of acres at the minimum. Since neither of us are from the Chicago area, we are unfamiliar with where we may be able to find this. How far from downtown Chicago would we be able to find a house with some land?

He also knows there is a possibility that we will end up as a suburb, so his heart will not be totally broken if we end up there...he would just PREFER that we didn't.

[via chicago]

are you looking to buy land and then build a house, or get something preexisting? there are lots of Great Gatsby-esque estates with land on the north shore (kenilworth, winnetka, wilmette, etc) but those are also some of the most expensive communities in the country (talking several million for a house like that). you can find newer areas with a lot more open land to the west (also cheaper), but you are not going to be near the city.

[DonkeyTeeth]

The city of Chicago and all of the inner suburbs are completely built out and dense- you'll be lucky to find a half-acre anywhere within 10-15 miles of the city (other than the North Shore estates the prev poster mentioned). To really find a home with multiple acres of land, you'll need to look much further out. Areas like Barrington, Long Grove, and some of the Fox Valley towns are known for having properties on very large lots like that.

[irish setter girl]

If you are looking for serious land for a residential home (3+ acres) you are going to have to travel at least 30 miles from the city. Most likely you'll be 30-50 miles. If you are looking for a half acre lot up to an acre you will pay dearly for it within 20 miles of the city. Anything bigger than a acre rarely exists unless you are buying a north shore estate for 10 million. The far northwest, west and soutwest burbs would have the best pricing for land I would think.

[reppin_the_847]

Given your criteria for land, and the fact that he'll be working at the CME downtown, I'm going to give a recommendation to you for the Barrington area. Barrington Hills I believe has a zoning requirement that requires estates to have a MINIMUM of 5 acres of land. There are a lot of Barringtons (Barrington, Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington, Tower Lakes). The key will be to situate your future home within reasonable distance of Barrington's Metra rail station, since this will make your fiance's commute to downtown Chicago MUCH MUCH easier. In Chicago during rush hours, you'll find MANY white collar professionals riding that wonderful, comfortable, speedy Metra train into downtown for work unlike in some other cities where public transit is looked down upon. As long are you are somewhere in the Barrington area, he can hopefully park his car at the Metra station and ride the train the rest of the way to work. The train is a lot more reliable than driving during heavy traffic conditions as well as inclement weather (heavy snowfall, etc.). I'd recommend the North Shore over the Barrington area if your priority was a quicker commute time to the city (the North Shore is the premier luxury suburban area of Chicago). The North Shore also offers premiere schools, very nice homes, etc. However, where Barrington excels is that it will offer you with FAR more land and acreage for your money. And there are some VERY wealthy people in this area as well. There are estates where people keep horses, etc.

As someone else mentioned, Long Grove may be worth considering as well. That's a bit more north, but probably a do-able commute. And then finally, another personal recommendation would be Mettawa. Mettawa is in unincorporated Libertyville, features estates with large amounts of acreage, and is a quick drive to the West Lake Forest Metra station off of Telegraph Road. The only downside is that there may not be too many homes available in Mettawa as it is a fairly small area, and has a very low population (picture a town with Kenilworth's population size, but spread out over a lot more acres and horse stables thrown in as well).

On a final note, this site will tell you just how congested the parking lots get at each particular Metra station in the Chicagoland area:

http://www.rtams.org/

Originally Posted by lisheyd

My fiance and I will be moving to Chicago in about a year, due to his job. He will be working at the CME right downtown. His dream is to have a house on some land, not just a suburb...a couple of acres at the minimum. Since neither of us are from the Chicago area, we are unfamiliar with where we may be able to find this. How far from downtown Chicago would we be able to find a house with some land?

He also knows there is a possibility that we will end up as a suburb, so his heart will not be totally broken if we end up there...he would just PREFER that we didn't.

[HOWELL_STREET]

I assume by "CME" you mean the Chicago Mercantile Exchange". And I suppose that is on LaSalle street in downtown Chicago? So why not buck the trend and choose a home in which you are not following everyone's dust in their stampede?
Such a location could be either the Odgen Dunes area or Chesterton, both in Indiana.
You have seen Jill Benett on national television? Of course, she is a famous newscaster for the Early Stock Market report ("First Off Wall Street"(?)...and at least one other stock market news program on cable.
So follow in Ms. Benett's footsteps. Although she works in the Wall Street area of NYC, she railroad - commutes to her Conneticut home each day. No muss, no fuss - - let the railroad do it for you.
So along the Indiana shore line and serving Chesterton, IN and other communities is what was originally known as the "South Shore Electric RR". It is still very healthy and doing quite well. Somebody once told me its new name, but I can't remember.
Most everything is cheaper in Indiana. So the South Shore daily ride to downtown Chicago should get you within walking distance of the CME. And there are still wide open country farmsteads for sale especially in Chesterton.

Best Regards,

Carter Glass,
Wheaton, IL

[NYrules]

My suggestion for you would be to either check out Palos Park or Lemont. Both towns are within an hour drive of The Loop and only about 40 minutes via Metra. Palos Park isn't cheap by any means, so don't be expecting to find much under $500,000, but the good news is that there are plenty of areas where there are horseback riding trails and almost all the homes are custom built (none looking the same). Palos Park is heavily wooded, hilly, with a lot of ponds and mini-lakes, and the town sits directly to the north of Orland Park, so you will be a stones throw away from all the shopping and eatting out you can do until your hearts content. Here is some info for you to consider Palos Park, Illinois AND Palos Park Homes for Sale. Real Estate in Palos Park, Illinois

Frankfort is another town to consider for areas with a lot of land, but again it comes at a cost. Here is some info on Frankfort Village of Frankfort AND Frankfort Homes for Sale. Real Estate in Frankfort, Illinois (broken link)

Orland Park and Tinley Park are also nice, but are all built out now with subdivisions and mall one after another.

[Windy City John]

go west young man sycamore, lily lake, elburn